The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

Michigan Labor Press: Solidarity Through Communication. An Affliate of the ILCA, Midwest Labor Press, and the AFL-CIO/CLC

Democracy for Metro Detroit: a progressive grassroots political action organization that seeks to elect socially and fiscally responsible candidates to state and local office in Michigan. We are affiliated with Democracy for America, the political action committee led by former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

The Michigan Coalition for Progress is an independent progressive voice for the people of Michigan dedicated to holding elected political leaders accountable and moving Michigan forward.

CURRENT TV:Current TV, founded by Al Gore, includes some of the best journalism in America today. In particular their Vanguard series is amazing and should not be missed by ANYONE who wants to know in depth coverage of some of the major stories in the world. And now CurrentTV has Keith Olbermann as well.

The Michigan State AFL-CIO (AFL-CIO) recognizes the election environment in 2011 will be a challenging year for the labor movement and its allies, but with the challenges come great opportunity.

Our challenges and opportunity begin with the assessment of the 2010 election and how our leadership applies strategies to move the labor movement forward and regain influence with State lawmakers. It is understood, if we want to move new legislation or protect current legislation we need to influence at least 9 in the House and 7 in the Senate.

The AFL-CIO intends to organize a strong local grassroots structure to assist affiliates and their members interaction with State law makers.

APAP is a national network of progressive Asian Pacific Americans and friends. Our goals are to represent and organize for the electoral empowerment of those throughout our diverse communities who share our progressive values and dedication to political action. To those ends, we hold: Dem Sum brunches forums and panels, voter registration drives, activist training sessions , fundraisers and friend-raisers for candidates, etc.

MICHIGAN NAACP:From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans and other minorities would be heard.

For one hundred years, it has been the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that has saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society.

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

NATIVE VOTE MICHIGAN:The state of Michigan encompasses 12 American Indian tribes within its borders. The American Indian and Alaska Native population makes up 1.25% of the state, and 1.12% of eligible Michigan voters.

Native Vote, is a nation wide resource for encouraging voter turn out in Indian Country. Organized by the National Congress of American Indians, get out the vote efforts in Indian Country have been supported by NCAI since 1955.

For more information or to get involved contact:Krystalyn Kinsel(202) 466-7767kkinsel@ncai.org

Monthly Berkley Democratic Club Meeting:Generally meets on Thursdays from 7pm to 8:30pm and all club meetings are open to the public. Bring your topics, ideas, and opinions to share and interact with other like-minded individuals!

All meetings are held at Anderson Middle School, 3205 Catalpa, Berkley, Michigan in the Media Center. We welcome you to join us!

Contact: http://www.berkleydems.org or info_at_berkleydems.org

And for those who want to combine socializing with politics, here are some Michigan Drinking Liberally groups:

Ann Arbor, Michigan * Second and fourth Thursday of each month, 7pm * Dominick's, 812 Monroe St. (Behind and across the street from the Law Quad) * Hosted by Jenay Karlson, Leah Hanzlicek and Jeffrey Schultz, annarbor (at) drinkingliberally.org

We are a statewide organization and a dominant force for change, diligently focused on education, activism, collaboration, assistance, advocacy, human rights and political power to promote equality and eliminate discrimination that is based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Farmington Hills Club MeetingFarmington / Farmington Hills Democratic ClubThird Wednesday of Every MonthStarting at 7:30pmWeb: http://www.ffhdc.orgPhone: 248-615-9119Location: Varies...call or check out website for more info.

There are several companies in Michigan involved in helping energy customers switch to green energy, including landfill methane gas use (which reduces methane emissions from landfills while generating energy), wind power and solar power. The cost is generally less than 3 cents per kilowatt-hour more than you currently pay for energy. By participating you contribute to reducing carbon emissions, cleaning up Michigan's environment, and stimulating Michigan's economy. Three important ways of helping your local community, local environment and local economy, all for less than 2 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy you use. In fact, buying green energy is cheaper in Michigan than in most states. When my wife and I made a similar switch in New York, we barely noticed the difference in our energy bill. We also switched to compact fluorescent bulbs at the same time and the energy savings reduced our bill by one-third even with the small increase from buying green energy. Together, we reduced our carbon footprint by about 30% while overall saving money. I highly recommend the switch.

GREEN CURRENTS:

GreenCurrents is Michigan's voluntary renewable energy program. By enrolling, you are supporting the generation of electricity from Michigan-based, renewable energy sources. Eighty-nine percent of the renewable energy we provide comes from wind energy and 11% from biomass including landfill gas and methane gas from cow manure.

The GreenCurrents program is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and strengthen Michigan's energy independence. Become a GreenCurrents customer today! It's a great way to create a bright future and a cleaner world.

Choose the option that works best for you:

Kilowatt-Hour Block Enrollment - $2.50/month

This option enables you to choose a participation level that is right for you and your budget.

You can purchase a "block' of 100 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy for $2.50 per month. You can purchase up to 10 individual blocks. This monthly cost is in addition to your normal monthly electric charges.

100 Percent Match

This option enables you to match 100 percent of your monthly electric consumption for 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The monthly cost is based on the amount of kilowatt-hours used each month, and is in addition to your normal monthly electric charges.

There are two kinds of alternate fuels that are readily available that lower your carbon foot print and use AMERICAN resources and create AMERICAN jobs rather than supporting big oil companies and oil nations like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela.

ETHANOL: Cars labeled FlexFuel (now becoming common in some states) can use up to E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline). E85 burns cleaner than gasoline and is usually cheaper. I have used E85 in California and found it to be 10-40 cents cheaper than the cheapest gasoline at the same station. CLICK HERE TO FIND STATIONS IN MICHIGAN OFFERING E85. This can be a really good way to help the American economy, help the environment, AND save money.

Here are some biodiesel stations in Michigan. Biodiesel is less polluting and has a smaller carbon footprint than regular diesel, and is produced right here in the USA. Biodiesel can be used in almost any diesel engine.

Interested in Buying Biodiesel or Starting a SE Michigan Cooperative??

Please email your name and contact information: leidel@oakland.edu to be added to a list of potential biodiesel users. The author of this site is campaigning for retail stations to carry B20, and a list of potential buyers will be invaluable. A business plan for a Detroit Metro cooperative is also in the works.

Show your interest, Please!! email here: leidel@oakland.edu Please include full name & town of residence

Michigan Biodiesel LLC was formed with fifty-seven farmers and eight biodiesel distributors. It is almost ninety percent Michigan owned and strives to enhance rural development and value-added agriculture production.

Michigan BioDiesel LLC is a group leading the way to the production and sales of B100 to distributors. Michigan BioDiesel LLC is the only full-service biodiesel group offering risk management, raw material procurement, plant construction know-how, biodiesel production and biodiesel sales and marketing services. All planned facilities will utilize batch system biodiesel production technology, methanol recovery and water recycling with zero water release from production, while becoming BQ-9000 accredited. Michigan BioDiesel LLC markets biodiesel to customers through its distributors to many industries including on-highway fleets, maritime, military, home heating and agriculture industries.

Michigan Biodiesel, LLC700 Industrial ParkwayBangor, MI 49013

If you need to contact us by phone, at 269-427-0804.The fax number is 269-427-0904.

If you need to contact John Oakley, the CEO of Michigan Biodiesel, the email address is joakley@mibiodiesel.com

Production Development and Chemical Process Manager: Robin Wason, the email address is rwason@mibiodiesel.com

Sustainable Michigan-Peak Oil Meetup GroupCome to a Sustainable Michigan/Peak Oil Meetup to generate ideas and discuss actions to raise public consciousness, promote sustainable development. Find others concerned about making Michigan sustainable in energy, food production, green building and other key areas related to relocalizing so that we are prepared in Michigan for any energy/resource decline. Get the support to BE the change. To find out more, join this group.

Peak Moment in Monroe:Peak Moment refers to the period of energy, climate, and economic uncertainty that we now live in as humans rapidly approach the end of the Age of Oil.